Horizon Point Consulting

Author: Mary Ila Ward

  • Top 10 Leadership Quotes

    Top 10 Leadership Quotes

    What is leadership? In one word, leadership is influence. It’s the ability to accomplish things through others.

    Taken to the next level, and as the noble ideal that leadership has become (as opposed to say, management) great leadership involves positive influence that leads to positive results. Leadership makes others, and therefore the world, better through focus on people.

    With this in mind, here are some of the great leadership quotes that espouse what real leadership is:

    “Lead from the back- and let others believe they are in front.” Nelson Mandela

     

    “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.” Sheryl Sanberg

     

    “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Benjamin Franklin

     

    “Leaders don’t create more followers, they create more leaders.” Tom Peters

     

    “Great leaders don’t set out to be a leader…they set out to make a difference. Its never about the role- always about the goal.”

     

    “Leadership is not a position or a title, it is action and example.”

     

    “Leaders take all the blame and give away all the credit.”

     

    “The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already.” John Buchan

     

    “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. Jack Welch

     

    “The key to successful leadership today is influence not authority.” Ken Blanchard

  • Establishing Leadership as a High School and College Student

    Establishing Leadership as a High School and College Student

    As a high school or college student, leadership development should be at the top of your to-do list. According to Tim Elmore’s teachings: Every student can be a leader, because the true definition of leadership is the ability to influence.Mr. Elmore is the founder of Horizon Point Consulting’s Goal Setting Worksheet, a nonprofit that helps emerging leaders under the philosophy that each child is born with leadership qualities.

    As you work towards your diploma or degree, you should also strive to establish yourself as a leader. Here are 7 ideas for developing your leadership skills along with resources to get you there:

    Establish Clear Goals – Horizon Point Consulting’s Goal Setting Worksheet

    Get Involved – The Freshman 15 Ways to Get Involved on Campus

    Volunteer – 5 Surprising Benefits of Volunteering

    Get Organized – The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

    Develop your soft skills – Six Soft Skills Everyone Needs

    Inspire others – The Simplest Ways to Inspire People and Change Their Life

    Find a mentor – 4 Tips for Finding Great Career Mentors

    So, as you begin planning for your next semester, why not add leadership development to your schedule? Check outHabitudes for the Journey The Art of Navigating Transitions – a great resource for students aspiring to be leaders.

  • Are you doer who is destined to be a leader?

    Are you doer who is destined to be a leader?

    Are you currently thriving in a position and considering transitioning into a leadership role? If you’re not sure, consider the following:

    Are you praised for displaying company values and known for always delivering?

    Are you a good communicator?

    Do others come to you with problems or to get your advice?

    Do you enjoy the role of leading/encouraging your co-workers?

    If you answered “yes” to the above question, you should definitely consider a role in leadership. So how do you transition from being a “doer” to a “leader”? Tips to Ensure a Smooth Transition into a Leadership Role suggests the following:

    • To start, be sure you know exactly what your supervisor expects from you in terms of performance and as a leader.
    • Once you know what success means in your new role, get to work on becoming a good leader.
    • It will likely be helpful to start by meeting with each of your direct reports individually and it may be a good idea to take the meeting off-site.
    • Finally, remember, to earn respect, you need to be respectful. Don’t show favoritism to any employee, don’t participate in office gossip, and follow through on the things you say you’ll do.

    “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.” Sheryl Sandberg

     

    If leadership opportunities are not available with your current employer and you are considering a move, how do you market your transferrable skills? According to The Top Transferrable Skills Every Manager Should Have, communication and empathy are two key skills for leaders. Update your resume to include your transferrable skills. For more about transferrable skills, read How to Identify Your Transferrable Skills. If you happen to be in an administrative role, read this month’s career spotlight: Front Line Leaders of Administrative Personnel.

    Are you ready to be a leader? Check out 10 Books Leaders Need to Be Reading for more insight.

  • Career Spotlight: Front Line Leaders of Administrative Personnel

    Career Spotlight: Front Line Leaders of Administrative Personnel

    Do you like organization and working with a team? Are you interested in customer and personal service? If so, then a career as a Front Line Leader of Administrative Personnel may be perfect for you.

    On the other hand, if you don’t enjoy working with others, critical thinking, planning and administration, becoming a front line leader may not be a good fit for you.

    Front line leaders of Administrative personnel directly supervise and coordinate the activities of clerical and administrative support workers.(ONET)

    What do you need to be a Front Line Leader of Administrative Personnel?

     

    Education:

    Front Line Leaders of Administrative Personnel have varying educational backgrounds. While some have a high school diploma, others have a bachelor’s degree. Regardless of educational background, individuals in this role typically have some time of management training and business/administrative background.

    If you are a high school student and would like to become a front line leader of administrative personnel, consider taking business education classes while in high school.

    Front Line Leaders of Administrative Personnel may be a good career change option for individuals who are currently in clerical or administrative roles and are interested in a leadership position. If you are currently considering a change to a leadership role, check out Get a Leadership Professional Development Game for insight.

    Skills:

    Front Line Leaders of Administrative Personnel know about:

    • Customer Service
    • Administration and Management
    • Critical Thinking
    • Planning
    • Coordination

    Is the field growing?

    ONET reports that careers for Front Line Leaders of Administrative Personnel are expected to increase by approximately 14% over the next 10 years.

     

    What is the pay like?

    cs-may2

     

    What’s the Holland Code* for a Front Line Leader?

    Interest code: ECS –Enterprising, Conventional, Social

     

    Enterprising — Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

     

    Conventional — Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

     

    Social — Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

     

    Source: http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-1011.00

     

    If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Front Line Leader of Administrative Personnel, go toONET. You should also check out collegegrad.com.

     

    Would you want to be a Front Line Leader? Why or why not?

     

    If you are interested in becoming a leader, regardless of the industry you are in, check out 10 Books Leaders need to be Reading.

     

    *Holland Codes are a way to classify a person based on their skills and interests as well as jobs based on the nature of the work. If you have an interest in knowing what your Holland Code is in order to match yourself to careers to pursue, you can read more about our assessment process.

  • Get a Leadership Professional Development Game Plan

    Get a Leadership Professional Development Game Plan

    Leaders take control of their personal and professional development in order to continuously grow and maximize their contribution. As a leader do you have a professional development game plan? If you do, here are some good ideas to consider, and if not, here are some ideas to get you started:

            1. Read- Commit to reading a sampling of the following:

    • A book about leadership a month. For recommendations on books to start with, see our Top 10 Leadership book recommendations. Downloading the app Good Reads and selecting the “Business” category can help you select some good titles. Once you begin rating books you’ve read, it will recommend other titles for you.
    • A great business publication once a month. FastCompany is my go-to for this, but others prefer something a little less edgy and more news oriented like The Economist or The Wall Street Journal
    • An industry specific publication once a month. My go-to for HR related topics is Workforce Magazine (their online content is great too) and HR Magazine published by SHRM and for Career Development it is NCDA’sCareer Convergence that is online content once a month and Career Developments Magazine which is in print.
    • Something outside your industry once a month (Oftentimes reading a great business publication will cover this. For example, I’ve been enjoying reading about the fashion and ecommerce industry in the last severalFastCompany
    • Leadership blogs and blogs related to your industry. Subscribe to ones that are of interest to you and/or get a content mining and archiving app like Flipboard to find, organize and catalogue your info. Make sure you don’t miss out on the Leadership Carnival the first Monday of every month that features a compilation of posts from a variety of key leadership bloggers. Blogs I love in the HR/Career industry are Fistful of Talent,The HR Capitalist and UpStartHR
    • Take your reading a step further and write about leadership. Set a goal to get something published once a year and then quarter. Where should you start to try to get published? Start with the publications you are currently reading.

            2. Engage and Listen. To other experts in your field and those who are learning with you.

    • Attend conferences to hear from the best and network with your colleagues. Record your insights and connections while you are there. You can also do this through webinars and podcasts.
    • Find a thought leader in your field and schedule a time to meet with them regularly (at least quarterly) to discuss ideas, leadership challenges and insights in your field.
    • Volunteer with an organization in which you are passionate about and learn from those around you and from your experience.
    • Request a regular, standing time to meet with your boss (at least one a month) to discuss business challenges and opportunities and plans of action.

    3. Practice and Apply. The reading and the engaging and listening really doesn’t matter if you don’t apply any of it to your work and life. As you read and listen, make notes of things you can apply on the job and set a game plan to do so. A goal setting worksheet may help with this. Take the time to discuss this with your boss in the regularly scheduled meeting you have hopefully established and ask for assignments that help you apply your knowledge, practice what you’re learning and that aid the business in pursuit of success.

    What is your personal career and leadership development game plan?